TO was fairly certain that it had been four days since the insurgency caught them. Without their chips, and with no clock in the room, the only way they could tell the time was from the regular meals that the insurgents brought to them, sliding them under the door though a small slot which locked on the outside. Mostly, they were fed those strange bugs with too many legs, and DH had to peel them so that TO could eat. In the morning, they also got a handful of dried fruits. In the evening, they added a strange root, one that DH promised was safe to eat.
“GiDi told me it was safe when I first came here.” DH said the first time the odd vegetable arrived, “But.. they’ve not been back since you came.”
The insurgents had left them books, though; a collection of seemingly random texts. TO had never seen a physical book before. It seemed like such a waste of paper, such a poor use of resources when most books could be duplicated digitally. It was something, though. As much as they loved DH, and as much as they both occupied one another’s attention, TO still needed something different to keep themself from going crazy. Basic exercises on the floor, made up chores, and the books all helped.
If the insurgents had put them in a room away from DH, they didn’t know if they’d survive. They wondered where Avery was and how they were doing. Were they alone? Would it be better for them to be locked up with Kei, or would it be better for them to be on their own with a pile of books?
They honestly didn’t know, and couldn’t ask either. They couldn’t ask if Avery hated them for shooting at Kei, how they were doing, or if they were safe. TO tried to get word to Avery, but the only access they had to the world outside the room were the meals that kept time, and whoever brought them never responded to TO’s questions when shouted through the slot in the door.
“GiDi will come back.” DH promised over and over again. “They said things are complicated right now, which is why we can’t leave this room… but they’ll be back.”
Would GiDi actually come back? They could tell that DH wasn’t lying about that, but could GiDi be trusted? Even thinking that made them feel sick, but GiDi was an insurgent now! How could they trust an insurgent? Was TO an insurgent now that they had shot a fellow synth? How would Avery ever trust them again? What would happen to them now that the insurgents had them? Ideas of being tortured passed through their mind more than once, as of course that was the only reason they could think of for a synth to work with the insurgency, but now it seemed very clear that GiDi had done so without being tortured.
If they were working with the insurgency under duress or because of torture, then why?
The only thing that kept them from these spiraling thoughts was DH. DH was there with them, and for now, they were safe. They had all the time in the world to spend with DH now; every day they could wake up, and rest in DH’s embrace for hours if they wanted to. If all this had never happened, then they’d be separated by now; probably sent to opposite sides of the galaxy. That was the thought that anchored them when everything else got chaotic in their head. It was what they were trying to focus on when, on the morning of the fourth day, the door to their room swung open.
Both TO and DH were awake, but TO acted first, sitting up and positioning themself between DH and the door, their wings spread as though trying to hide their mate, their ears pinned down and their teeth bared as they stared down the red, snake-like figure who entered. He had one of their multi guns in his hands - TO didn’t know how he was using one without a chip - and he was aiming directly at TO.
“Sit.” He hissed.
“Or what?”
“Or I’ll shoot.” Came his very sharp response, “What did you think I’d do?”
“It’s fine, TO.” DH whispered at TO’s back, “Just sit down. He’ll stun you if you don’t.”
After another moment of staring one another down, TO obeyed and knelt down on the bed. As he did, the snake-person stepped aside to let three other people enter after them. Flit, Snout, and Pholi.
“Hello, hello, Don’t mind me.” Pholi said with a pleasant wave at TO and DH, “I’m just an observer. Pay me no heed.”
“And I’m here in case you decide to try anything.” The snake person said.
“Yes, yes, you’re very intimidating.” Pholi said, “Pardon my aggressive friend, Tio, D.H. This is my good friend Tham. He’ll be chaperoning.”
They didn’t care that this Tham person would be there to watch them. They didn’t care that - from the sound of the door locking on the other side once Snout closed it- there were other people there. What they cared about was Snout and C12- No, GiDi said they liked to be called Flit now. Snout and Flit. Of the millions of things they could have asked, the questions they had spinning about their head, they only really had a strange sense of relief, and they said the first words that came to them.
“... You’re together again.” They said, feeling their ears twitch down. “You found each other-”
“And you ended up here with DH.” Flit said as they leaned against the door. “I thought they weren’t the one you were interested in.”
TO’s ears burned as they looked around, eyes darting from person to person. Though Flit was speaking Synth-speak, TO knew that the language didn’t really offer them any privacy.
“He knows our language.” TO snapped, pointing to Pholi, “It’s dangerous-”
Stolen novel; please report.
“Oh, I do.” Pholi said, “That’s why I’m here to observe.” Their stubby tail slapped against the ground, “I can speak it if I have programs to create the strange clicks you have in your language, but from what I understand that involves being able to breathe and exhale at the same time, and I’m literally, physically unable to do that. I could do it otherwise!”
“And you won’t get in trouble for having a mate here.” Snout said. They stepped up to Flit and wrapped an arm around theirs, leaning against them and gently kissing their arm, exposed by the torn t-shirt they were wearing which they had altered to accommodate their wings.
TO looked away, remembering the time they saw them kiss back in the training center. They were the only other synths they had ever seen act in such a way, and they weren’t used to it. They especially weren’t used to the awkward way Flit's ears tilted down, or the blue flush that covered their ears.
“They get the idea.” Flit muttered, clearing their voice and trying to keep some composure, “But yes… That doesn’t matter anymore. Not here, anyway.”
Snout released Flit’s arm and leaned next to them against the door, their shoulder pressed against Flit’s.
“What do you want?” TO asked, still ready to jump up and protect DH from anyone in the room, even from Flit and Snout if they had to. “Why did you keep us here for so long? Where’s GiDi? And Avery-”
“GiDi is with-”
“Don’t implicate her.” The snake person said. “Shush.”
Another snake person female. Someone associated with the insurgency.
“Is GiDi with Pearla?” TO asked.
“They are.” Flit said, “And they’re safe. They were just strongly recommended to take a few days away from here. Getting DH was risky enough, and a big gamble given what we were trying to do in Thalassa.” their ears dipped down, “We thought that getting you out would be… well, impossible.”
“And unwise.” Pholi added, “I thought you were fine, mind. I just had to talk to you for three minutes while you were out of uniform to tell that. You do those same love-sick ear movements, and I figured you’d be more like Flit and Snout. I knew having you here would be fine.”
“I’m not so sure.” Tham said, “GiDi, maybe they’re ok. They got kicked out for a reason. You lot?” His gun was steady, his eyes focused. “You passed. You’ve worked for him.” His nose wrinkled with his sneer. “Decon.”
The way he spoke, that tone that he used when he spoke King Decon’s name, had that same hint of disgust that some civilians -like Petra- used for speaking of Synths.
“How dare you?” TO hissed, their ears pinning back once more.
“I dare with a gun pointed at you.” Tham snapped back, “Go ahead; give me an excuse to shoot.”
“Just calm down, TO.” Flit said, taking a step forward, “I know you’re probably very confused-”
“I’ve been here longer, and I’m confused!” DH said from behind TO, “GiDi didn’t tell me anything, except they’d try to get TO.”
“I know, and I’m sorry for that.” Flit said. They walked up to the bed and sat on the edge. “There’s a lot we can’t tell you yet, but there’s also a lot we can tell you.” He looked at TO, his ears twitching with concern, “A lot that you wanted to know a long time ago, and which was just too dangerous to tell you then. But if you ask now, I can tell you.”
“Another reason I’m here.” Pholi said, “I’m to veto any information that might be too sensitive at this moment to share.”
“So, go ahead.” Flit said, “Ask me anything. Any question I might have pushed you away from before? Anything that you were too afraid to ask.”
There were so many questions that TO wanted to ask. Answers they had given up on learning a long time ago, the question why Flit saved GiDi, and why they had TO and DH sent to Arkane.
One question loomed above all the others now, a question that demanded an answer.
“Why are you working with them?” TO snapped, gesturing to the others, “The insurgents.” They could feel their ears contort with disgust, “How could you turn against King Decon-”
“We could do it easily.” Snout hissed, their own ears pinning back, “Once I learned just what a lying, sociopathic tyrant Decon was, it was actually very easy to side with the insurgents.”
It was almost dizzying to hear a synth say such things. They could almost understand the others, the insurgents themselves speaking of King Decon with disgust, even if they hated it. Civilians were shortsighted and selfish. They couldn’t look beyond themselves and might have held some distaste for King Decon. They could especially understand it if they thought that all the awful things the leadership of Arkane did were actually King Decon’s doing.
A synth should know better, though, especially a synth that had worked in the labs.
“I guess we’re diving right in.” Snout said. “Though that’s probably the best place to start.”
“You don’t agree with them!” TO said, their ears down in absolute shock, their eyes wide. How could a retiree agree with that!?
“I do.” They said, “Because I’m smart, like you. When I have enough evidence of something, I’m prone to believe it, even if it takes a while.”
“And what, you have evidence that King Decon is-” They couldn’t bring themself to repeat the thing that Snout had said, “That He’s those things?”
“I don’t know about sociopathic, but I know one thing.” They gave a deep sigh, their ears dipping.
“King Decon is, in fact, a liar. “